New Jersey Supreme Court Changes Standard in Relocation Cases

August 18, 2017 by Robert Franklin, Esq, Member, National Board of Directors, National Parents Organization

The New Jersey Supreme Court has struck a blow for kids, families and common sense (NJ.com, 8/10/17). In the case of Bisbing v. Bisbing, the Court ruled that, when a parent with primary custody wants to relocate with the children, she may only do so if she proves that relocation is in the children’s best interests.

Given the current state of the law on child custody, that should have been nothing but the obvious, but in the Garden State, it wasn’t. Before the Bisbing case, non-custodial parents had the burden of proving that the moveaway wasn’t in the child’s best interests. The high court placed the burden of proof where it should have been all along – on the moving party.